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History · Wolf Lake Township

16% of Wolf Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1950.

0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Wolf Lake Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wolf Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1950 and 2000, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wolf Lake Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wolf Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wolf Lake Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Wolf Lake Township, census by census

01001960198020002020109 in 1950Low: 31

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1950 and 2000, then more than doubled.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wolf Lake Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lonnrot
1898–1914
Snellman
1912–1919
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Snellman
Gone or out of use
Lonnrot Post Officepost officeSnellman Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wolf Lake Township
PalmPickerel

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Wolf Lake Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wolf Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wolf Lake is a city in Becker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 71 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 242 to 272 (+12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wolf Lake Township, 1898 to 1969

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Lonnrot post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912Post officeThe Snellman post office opens
  5. 1914Post officeThe Lonnrot post office closes
  6. 1919Post officeThe Snellman post office closes
  7. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 109
  8. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Wolf Lake Township on the map, 1969 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wolf Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wolf Lake Township on the 1969 USGS mapWolf Lake Township on the 1986 USGS map1969Wolf Lake sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wolf Lake Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wolf Lake Township

Nobody well known was born in Wolf Lake Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
B
Bud TingelstadAmerican racing driver · b. 1928
K
Kieth EngenAmerican operatic bass singer · b. 1925
Aaron PikeAmerican wheelchair racer, biathlete and cross-… · b. 1986
D
Don MonsonAmerican basketball coach · b. 1933
Sharon NelsonAmerican politician
McKenna BrandAmerican ice hockey forward · b. 1996
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wolf LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreen Valley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarsonville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townToad Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpruce Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Wolf Lake Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.